MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2014 SPORTS Geisenberger bags luge season title

ALTENBERG: Natalie Geisenberger captured the wildly around Sochi, so Hamlin is among those hop- the Winter Olympics,” Hamlin said. Also for the This is the seventh consecutive year that World Cup women’s luge championship for the sec- ing for a bit of a cold snap in a couple of weeks. US, Summer Britcher was 14th and Kate Hansen Geisenberger finished ranked in the top three on ond straight year yesterday, after the German and “I’m going to cross my fingers for winter at was 21st. tour and the 16th straight year in which a German strong Sochi Olympics favorite clinched the season- woman won the season-long title. Geisenberger is long title with a victory in the circuit’s next-to-last race. also the sixth woman to win back-to-back World Cup Geisenberger set start and track records in her titles and the ninth woman with multiple champi- first run at Altenberg on Sunday, finishing the two- onships overall. heat race in 1 minute, 46.332 seconds. Canadian slid- “They all tell me that I’m the top favorite to win ers took silver and bronze, with Alex Gough 0.674 the gold medal at the games,” Geisenberger said. seconds behind Geisenberger and Kimberley McRae “However, my aim is to claim a medal. The pressure is another 0.024 seconds back. high enough and I don’t need to put myself under It was Geisenberger’s seventh win in eight races even more pressure.” on the circuit this season. German teammates In the team relay, Russia finished first, followed by Tatjana Huefner and Dajana Eitberger were fourth Canada in second - with Gough getting her second and fifth. Erin Hamlin was a strong sixth for the US, silver of the day by being part of the effort there - her medal hopes ruined by posting only the 18th- and Germany took third. fastest time in the first heat - one that was slowed by The US team of Hamlin, Chris Mazdzer and the deteriorating ice on an unseasonably warm day with doubles squad of Matthew Mortensen and Preston the temperature in the mid-40s. Griffall placed sixth in the team relay, which is part of The 2009 world champion roared back in the sec- the Olympic program for the first time this year. ond heat with the second-best time, even bettering Germans swept all three disciplines in the World what was posted by Geisenberger in that run. But on Cup this season, with Felix Loch taking the men’s her first run, the later starters had to endure rough crown and the team of Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt ice. “I would say bad luck of the draw,” Hamlin said. winning the doubles points championship. Germany “My first run was actually better than my second. I also finished with the most ranking points in team don’t know how I could have gone any faster unless relays. I had some magic wax or something.” Germany’s Olympic luge qualifiers are planning to The colder the air, the harder the ice, and the ALTENBERG: Erin Hamlin of the US speeds in the ice channel during the first run at the women’s luge skip the World Cup season-ending race at Sigulda, faster the race. And the temperature can fluctuate World Cup race. — AP Latvia, next weekend. — AP NZ beat India in ODI opener

NAPIER: A thundering innings by Corey Anderson and a magic spell of bowling by Mitch McClenaghan brought New Zealand a 24-run win over India in their opening one-day international yesterday. Chasing New Zealand’s 292 for seven, India were all out for 268 in the 49th over despite (123) posting his 18th ODI century. It was the first time India have lost an ODI in which Kohli has reached three fig- ures. They appeared to have victory in their grasp when they needed just 70 from the last eight overs, and Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni looked comfortable in a 95-run partnership for the fifth . But in the space of six deliveries, McClenaghan removed Dhoni (40), Ravi Jadeja (duck) and Kohli to have India reeling on 237 for seven, and they never recovered. That brief spell was where the game was lost, Dhoni said. “Those three that was tough on the team. You don’t expect your tailenders to win the game and it was very important that one of us should’ve carried on. It was disappointing to lose the game.” New Zealand Brendon McCullum said it was “a captain’s nightmare” when Kohli and Dhoni were in full flight but he had faith in McClenaghan. SHARJAH: Pakistan bowler Saeed Ajmal (left) celebrates after dismissing Sri Lankan NAPIER: India’s Virat Kohli makes his ground as the stumps are hit against New Zealand in the “He’s in the team to attack and take wickets and first one-day international match at McLean Park. — AP batsman during the fourth day of the third and final cricket the message was pretty simple, ‘try and find a way to Test match. — AFP take a wicket. Be aggressive as you can and be as hos- tile as you can and if it falls your way, great’. I thought Pakistan push he was outstanding.” SCOREBOARD Anderson had earlier returned to his brutal best hard for series-levelling win with the bat after going off the boil following his NAPIER, New Zealand: Completed scoreboard of the opening one-day international between record-breaking century in 36 balls against the West New Zealand and India at McLean Park in Napier yesterday: Indies three weeks ago. SHARJAH: Pakistan grabbed the prized Australia Ricky Ponting (13,378), South In his first start against India, the world’s top- New Zealand R. Sharma c Southee b McClenaghan 3 wicket of Mahela Jayawardene to press Africa’s Jack Kallis (13,289), India’s rahul ranked ODI side, Anderson blasted an unbeaten 68 off M. Guptill c Ashwin b Shami 8 V. Kohli c Ryder b McClenaghan 123 their advantage for a series-levelling win Dravid (13,288), West Indian Brian Lara 40 deliveries. He hit four sixes, two of them out of the J. Ryder b Shami 18 A. Rahane c N. McCullum b Anderson 7 over Sri Lanka in the third Test in Sharjah (11,953), his countryman Shivnarine ground, then returned with the ball to display his all- K. Williamson c Rahane b Jadeja 71 S. Raina c Southee b Milne 18 yesterday. Chanderpaul (11,219) and Australia’s Allan rounder credentials by removing two of India’s top- R. Taylor c Dhoni b Shami 55 M. Dhoni c Ronchi b McClenaghan 40 Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal removed Border (11,174) are the other members of order batsmen Shikhar Dhawan (32) and Ajinkya B. McCullum c Dhoni b Kumar 30 R. Jadeja c Ronchi b McClenaghan 0 Jayawardene for 46 near stumps on the the club. Rahane (seven). India, who stand to forfeit their world C. Anderson not out 68 R. Ashwin c Southee b Williamson 12 fourth day after an exciting tussle between Jayawardene hit four boundaries and a number one ranking if they lose the five-match series L. Ronchi c Kumar b Sharma 30 B. Kumar run out (Williamson/Ronchi) 6 the bat and ball as Sri Lanka finished at 133- six during his defiant knock. Pakistan did to the eighth-ranked New Zealand, chose to bowl first N. McCullum c & b Shami 2 I. Sharma b Southee 5 5. They now lead by 220 runs with five wick- waste a golden chance of removing on a wicket with a history of favouring the side bat- T. Southee not out 3 M. Shami not out 7 ets in hand and a full day’s play to retain Mathews when Khurram Manzoor dropped ting last. Extras: (lb1, w6) 7 Extras: (lb3, w12) 15 their 1-0 lead. They won the second Test in an easy chance at extra cover off paceman New Zealand lost Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill Total (seven wickets; 50 overs) 292 Total: (all out; 48.4 overs) 268 Dubai by nine wickets after the first ended Junaid Khan. Mathews was then on 11. early, leaving Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor with Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Ryder), 2-32 (Guptill), 3- Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Sharma), 2-73 (Dhawan), in a draw in Abu Dhabi. It was Rehman (2-36) who raised hopes the task of building the innings. Their no-risk 153 (Williamson), 4-171 (Taylor), 5-213 3-84 (Rahane), 4-129 (Raina), 5-224 (Dhoni), 6- At the close Angelo Mathews was for Pakistan by dismissing experienced approach saw the run rate slump to 3.57 and at one (McCullum), 6-279 (Ronchi), 7-284 (McCullum) 224 (Jadeja), 7-237 (Kohli), 8-244 (Kumar), 9- stage New Zealand went 85 deliveries without a unbeaten on 14 and with him Prasanna (eight) and Kaushal Silva Did not bat: A. Milne, M. McClenaghan. 259 (Ashwin), 10-268 (Sharma) boundary. Their 121-run partnership, which laid the Jayawardene was on six not out. (36) in the post lunch session, leaving Sri Bowling: Kumar 10-0-38-1 (3w), Shami 9-0-55- Bowling: Southee 9.4-2-43-1 (2w), Jayawardene and Mathews had frustrated Lanka precariously placed at 66-3. platform for a big finish, ended with Williamson out for 71. Taylor followed soon after for 55 and Brendon 4 (1w), Sharma 9-0-72-1 (2w), Jadeja 9-0-61-1, McClenaghan 10-0-68-4 (4w), Milne 7.3-0-40-1 Pakistan in the last session through their It became 89-4 when Dinesh Chandimal McCullum belted a rapid 30. Ashwin 10-0-52-0, Kohli 3-0-13-0 (3w), Anderson 10-0-51-2 (1w), N. McCullum slow-paced 38-run fifth wicket stand and (13) was bowled by Talha, who took 2-36, Anderson then let fly. He and Luke Ronchi (30) put India 10-0-54-0 (1w), Williamson 1.3-0-3-0 (1w) when it seemed both will see off the day, soon after tea, but Jayawardene and on 66 in 37 deliveries for the sixth wicket, including 19 S. Dhawan c Taylor b Anderson 32 Result: New Zealand won by 24 runs. Ajmal had Jayawardene caught at short-leg. Mathews ensured Sri Lanka did not panick. off one over by Mohammed Shami to distort the fig- Ajmal could have had Prasanna caught Pakistan had removed opener Dimuth ures of India’s leading bowler who took four for 55. behind off his gloves on nought but wicket- Karunaratne for eight, bowled by Talha as India made a cautious start to their reply and went They came out of it five overs and 51 runs later with McClenaghan came back for his closing spell and keeper Sarfraz Ahmed failed to hold the Sri Lanka reached 19-1 at lunch. into their power play in the 35th over on 149- the run rate down to a manageable 5.12 and with seized control for the home side. The second match in catch, much to Pakistan’s desperation. Earlier, Pakistan were bowled out for 341 4, requiring a run rate of nine an over to win the game. Kohli and Dhoni looking very comfortable. But then the series is in Hamilton on Wednesday. — AFP Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore said his in their first innings, 87 short of Sri Lanka’s team will go for the win. “It will be an inter- first innings total of 428 for nine declared. esting fifth day,” said Whatmore, under Skipper Misbah-ul Haq scored 63 to whose two-year tenure Pakistan didn’t win notch up his 24th Test half-century before Australia thrash England a Test series. holing out to left-arm spinner Rangana “We need five wickets quickly,” said Herath who finished with 5-125. Whatmore, whose term ends after this Paceman Shaminda Eranga removed SYDNEY: David Warner and Shaun Marsh smashed match. Sri Lankan paceman Shaminda Abdul Rehman (two) and Talha (two) after fifties to complement their bowlers’ efforts as Australia Eranga said Sri Lanka will look for more Pakistan resumed on 291-6, searching for crushed England by seven wickets in the third one-day runs. “Obviously, we will look to build part- quick runs. international in Sydney yesterday to take an unassail- nership and increase our lead to get out of Eranga bettered his 4-65 against able 3-0 lead in the five-match series. danger,” said Eranga. Australia in Colombo in 2011. Misbah struck Warner blasted seven boundaries and two sixes in Jayawardene, who struck 129 in Sri Herath for a six and then took a single to his 71 off just 70 balls at the top of the order while fel- Lanka’s nine wicket win in the second Test complete his fifty off 86 balls. He hit three low left-hander Marsh remained unbeaten on 71 to in Dubai, swept Ajmal over deep square-leg sixes and a four before being caught at anchor the chase as Australia maintained an utter for a six to complete 11,000 runs in his 141st long-on. dominance of their arch-rivals. Test. He became the eighth batsman in all Junaid also struck two boundaries to The hosts comfortably chased down their 244-run and the first Sri Lankan to score reduce the deficit before he too was caught target with 10 overs to spare as England continued the 11,000 or more runs in a list topped by now- in the deep off Herath as Pakistan’s innings search for a first win of their wretched tour Down Under, during which they also lost the Ashes series 5-0. retired India’s Sachin Tendulkar with 15,921. was wrapped up before lunch. — AFP Warner added 78 for the second wicket with Marsh before he hit Ben Stokes straight to Ian Bell at cover but there was little respite for England as Marsh and SCOREBOARD captain Michael Clarke then combined for a 51-run stand to take the team closer to victory. SYDNEY: Australian bowler Daniel Christian dives and catches out England’s Eoin Morgan dur- SHARJAH: Scoreboard at the close on the fourth day of the third and final test Brad Haddin (37 not out) was promoted after ing their one-day international cricket match at the Sydney Cricket Ground. — AP between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Sharjah yesterday. Clarke (34) chopped Ravi Bopara onto his stumps and the Australia wicketkeeper continued his good form, Sri Lanka first innings 428-9 dec. 4-61-0, Perera 17-1-71-1, Eranga 24-5-60-4 racing to the target with Marsh with an unbroken SCOREBOARD Pakistan first innings (overnight 291-6) (1nb), Mathews 7-3-15-0 stand of 72 in just 68 balls. Earlier, England wasted a Khurram Manzoor c Sri Lanka second innings brisk start from openers Alastair Cook (35) and Ian Bell SYDNEY: Scoreboard after Australia beat England by seven wickets in the third one-day interna- P. Jayawardene b Eranga 52 D. Karunaratne b Talha 8 (29) to end on a below-par 243 for nine wickets in their tional in Sydney yesterday. England won the toss and elected to bat. Ahmed Shehzad b Herath 147 K. Silva b Rehman 36 50 overs.Most of England’s batsmen got starts after England innings (1nb, 2w), Coulter-Nile 10-0-47-3, Doherty 10-2- Azhar Ali c Mathews b Perera 8 K. Sangakkara c Manzoor b Rehman 8 captain Cook won the toss and opted to bat but they failed to convert them to big scores in the face of some A. Cook c Maxwell b Coulter-Nile 35 28-1, Maxwell 9-0-38-0, Christian 9-0-52-2 Younus Khan c P. Jayawardene b Herath 17 M. Jayawardene c Azhar b Ajmal 46 tight bowling and outstanding fielding from Australia. I. Bell run out 29 Australia innings Misbah-ul-Haq c Chandimal b Herath 63 D. Chandimal b Talha 13 Cook’s quickfire innings was cut short when Glenn B. Stokes c Clarke b Doherty 15 A. Finch C Bopara b Jordan 22 Asad Shafiq lbw b Eranga 18 A. Mathews not out 14 Maxwell took a sharp catch at cover, while Warner G. Ballance c Christian b Coulter-Nile 26 D. Warner c Bell b Stokes 71 Sarfraz Ahmed c P. Jayawardene b Herath 5 P. Jayawardene not out 6 found a direct hit from the outfield to run Bell out. E. Morgan c & b Christian 54 S. Marsh not out 71 R. Bopara c Haddin b Faulkner 21 M. Clarke b Bopara 34 Abdur Rehman c P. Jayawardene b Eranga 2 Extras (w-1, nb-1) 2 Clarke also took a low catch at square leg to J. Buttler b Christian 4 B. Haddin not out 37 Mohammad Talha lbw b Eranga 2 Total (five wickets; 71 overs) 133 remove Stokes (15) before Daniel Christian dived full T. Bresnan not out 41 Extras (lb-4, w-5) 9 Saeed Ajmal not out 0 Still to bat: D. Perera, R. Herath, S. Eranga, S. length to take a return catch off the leading edge of S. Broad c Haddin b Coulter-Nile 1 Total (three wickets; 40 overs) 244 Junaid Khan c Chandimal b Herath 16 Lakmal key batsman Eoin Morgan. C. Jordan c Finch b Faulkner 10 Did not bat: G. Maxwell, D. Christian, J. Pattinson, Extras (b-3, lb-6, w-1, nb-1) 11 Fall of wickets: 1-13 2-37 3-66 4-89 5-127 Morgan (54) was once again the top-scorer for J. Tredwell not out 2 J. Faulkner, N. Coulter-Nile, X. Doherty England and his dismissal after hitting four boundaries Total (all out; 109.1 overs) 341 Bowling (to date): Junaid 15-5-25-0 (1w), Talha Extras (lb-2, w-2, nb-1) 5 Fall of wickets: 1-43 2-121 3-172 and two massive sixes robbed the visitors of any Total (nine wickets; 50 overs) 243 Bowling: Jordan 9-0-56-1 (2w), Broad 8-0-61-0 Fall of wickets: 1-114 2-149 3-189 4-245 5-274 16-2-36-2 (1nb), Rehman 22-7-36-2, Ajmal 18- momentum in the closing stages. It was left to a slog- Fall of wickets: 1-50 2-70 3-91 4-121 5-177 6-186 (2w), Bresnan 6-0-42-0, Tredwell 9-0-42-0, Bopara 6-291 7-294 8-300 9-325 5-36-1 ging Tim Bresnan to take England to a fighting total 7-195 8-198 9-225 5-0-16-1 (1w), Stokes 3-0-23-1 Bowling: Herath 38.3-8-125-3 (1w), Lakmal 23- Sri Lanka lead the series 1-0. with a 29-ball 41 which included two sixes off Christian Bowling: Faulkner 6-0-35-2, Pattinson 6-0-41-0 Australia win by seven wickets. in the last over. —Reuters